If you live near coastal waters in New Jersey and haven’t started planning for sea level rise and extreme storm surges, now might be a good time to do so.

About 155,000 people in New Jersey are living on land that’s less than 1 meter above the high water mark – land that is vulnerable to a rising sea and storm surges, according to studies[1]released[2] today.

Global sea level rise[3] may approach 1 or 2 meters this century as a result of greenhouse gas emissions, according to a study. A meter is about 39 inches.

In Atlantic City[4], the sea rose by an average of 4.42 millimeters a year from 1959 to 2008, according to research by Climate Central[5] and other experts.

The sea level in that city is expected to rise another 6.7 inches by 2030 and nearly 1.3 feet by 2050, according to the research.

“Particularly large populations are exposed” at the New Jersey shore and in New York City and Long Island, among other areas, according to a study.

Climate Central, which has a Princeton office, has developed interactive maps[6] showing “threats from sea level rise and storm surge to all 3000+ coastal towns, cities, counties and states in the Lower 48.”

As a result of sea level rise, extreme storm surges affecting low-lying land would be expected more often. For instance, a surge expected once in 100 years now (on average) could take place every 10 years or less in some areas by 2050, according to the research.

New Jersey has 67 square miles of dry land that’s less than 1 meter above the average high water line, according to the research. That land had a population of 154,577 and 107,024 housing units.

The Garden State ranks fifth behind Florida, Louisiana, California and New York in terms of the population living on such low-lying land, according to the research.

In the lower 48 states, an estimated 3.7 million people live on such land, according to the research.

In 38 counties and 544 cities, including more than 40 in New Jersey, more than 10 percent of the population lives on such land, according to the research.

I have written quite a bit about sea level rise over the years and have posted several blogs on the issue. You can check[7]them[8]out[9]here[10].

[11]

Flooding on Long Beach Blvd. on low-lying Long Beach Island following Tropical Storm Irene on Aug. 28, 2011 (file photo by Peter Ackerman)

[12]

Flooding in the Bay Shore section of Toms River following Tropical Storm Irene (file photo by Doug Hood)